Just to be ambitious, I figured I’d try making my own cinnamon buns. I wasn’t ambitious enough to do all the grunt work, though — I let the bread machine do all the rising and kneading. With a dollop of cream cheese icing on top, they made for some pretty amazing treats for my guest(s). Here’s the recipe I used, but I doubled the cinnamon mixture, and instead of the glaze I made some cream cheese icing that was equal parts cream cheese, butter, and icing sugar.

In these cold, wintry months (well, cold-ish, anyway!), we’ve done a few comfort food meals, and attached a picture of a few: spaghetti & meatballs, as well as seafood chowder (the way Mom used to make)! Recipes have been modified- send me a message, if you’d like!

After a bitter walk home through hellish conditions, (-5), I came home to aid in the construction, and subsequent annihilation, of the attached winter repast… Herbed Panko Crusted Chicken with Butternut Squash and Gnocchi a’la Shari
-Butternut Squash:
gut the squash and slice into 3/4″ slabs
brush with olive oil
bake at 350 for 15 mins-THEN-increase to 450 and ADD the chicken…
-Chicken:
-4 M&M (of course) Chicken breasts, thawed and rinsed
-1/3 of a box of Kikkoman Panko( the best- has a resealable inner bag, too!)
-1 tsp poultry seasoning or sage
-1 tsp seasoning salt or BBQ rub
Mix panko and spices up on a plate, roll chicken it the mixture, place on a foiled up pan and bake at 450 for 18-20 mins. While that’s cooking, prepare the-
-Gnocchi
-one 500 g bag o’ gnocchi
-1-2 tbs olive oil
heat oil in skillet, and add gnocci straight from the bag, fry for 5 or so mins on med heat, till nicely browned. Splash on a few drops of truffle oil, ’cause it’s awesome, et Voila- warm and lovely goodness and great smells abound!

NOTE: Picture is NOT worthy of Donna Hay/Jon- and is not indicative of the goodness.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Mix first group of ingredients. Rinse and pat dry the cod fillets. Immerse them in olive oil, then roll them in cracker mixture. Arrange on a pan and bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies

Preheat oven to 300°F. Blend dry ingredients in one bowl and other ingredients in another. Using biceps to their max, combine all ingredients together thoroughly. Refrigerate dough for 20 minutes. Spoon tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet (squish with a fork if you wish) and bake for about 15 minutes or until slightly browned. Makes between two and three dozen cookies.

another birthday meal! 🙂 No pictures, but we made filet mignon… had a Groupon (yeah, Groupon!) for 50% off a specialty organic butcher in North Van, so bought the best! We did the steaks French style- pan seared with butter… oh my- so good! Also did caramelized shallot & roasted garlic mashed potatoes (my own recipe), and did this sauce for the steaks- took me 2 hours, but totally worth the effort! I’ve just included the recipe for the sauce, as I didn’t make anything else…

Okay, so they’re not authentically Dutch, but this recipe was originally an Alton Brown recipe (with some alterations by yours truly), so I think that lends them some credibility. They also happen to be delicious and easy.

Whole-Wheat Pancakes

Blend dry ingredients well, then mix in the other ingredients. Lightly grease a frying pan or griddle set to low-medium heat and pour ¼-cupfuls of batter onto the pan. Cook until bubbles break on the surface, then flip; cook until undersides are golden brown.

Note to file: Don’t try this recipe. It sucks. I’m an experienced baker (granted, with a dial oven and $2-pans), and I just wasted 3 dozen cookies’ worth of ingredients (you can see the mushiness of the top and blackness of the bottom, after just 6 minutes in the oven).

Ohh how sophisticated it sounds – a tasting trio. Because it’s a shared joy for Doug and I to take a highbrowed approach to mere peasant treats, we have created a delectable culinary experience for you all. Kidding ….. I love popcorn and Doug has learned to share my love of this microwavable delight.

We popped a few bags (the lazy approach) and then seasoned for three different flavors! We highly recommend any or all of the following be enjoyed with a healthy sized glass of vino.

Frenchified Popcorn

About 3 garlic cloves, crushed

Melted Butter

4-5 cups of popcorn

2 tablespoons herbes de Provence

Celery salt to taste

Salt

Sauté the crushed garlic and butter then add the popcorn, tossing to coat. Remove from heat and season generously with salt and herbs de Provence.

We really enjoyed this one, it was the least overpowering of the flavors and would be the perfect accompaniment to a movie or hockey game.

Line the bottom of a pan with foil and toss popcorn with pecan pieces. In a heavy sauce pan, melt butter and add maple syrup and salt. Bring to a boil (w/o stirring) for about 15 mins. Pour syrup over the popcorn/pecans and cool completely.

This one was sweet and delicious. It also stores better than the other combos.

This one is pretty self explanatory – just toss everything together! We upped the salt and pepper amounts and tossed it in a saucepan to try and melt some of the parm. This combo was the least unique in taste, but still a good twist on regular popcorn.

The other day I realized I needed snacks, and I looked through my fridge but all I could find were carrots and whole-wheat flour, so I took someone’s recipe, heavily modified it (originally there was pineapple in it, actually), and came out with these:

OK, so Matt and I decided to compromise and not blow $300 at West to celebrate our anniversary. However, we did blow about $100 at Bosa foods (we heart Bosa!!).

So, here are the picture descriptions: We started with Charcuterie: pork country pate (I did not make!) 18 month aged prosciutto, soppresseta, goat brie, okanagan gouda and raincoast crisps/crostinis. Accompanying this (in our lovely tri sauce dish, thanks to D & E), we had zucchini relish, given to us by a friend, sundried tomato, and red pepper curry mustard, again courtesy of the Edmonton Farmer’s market, and D & E. (AMAZING mustard, guys!!!)

For dinner, we did a duck ragu with papardelle noodles. Never made duck before, but found out it is an easy way to spend $30 on protein! http://bit.ly/8X7Y70. I made several modifications, so let me know if you’d like the additions. It was SO good- so flavorful and rich, without being overly heavy.

Paired it with a 2006 (a great year- get it? Anniversary? ka-ching) La Frenz Montage. So delicious, and the leftovers were far more than West’s! Buon appetito!

So, if there’s one thing I love to do when I cook, is find a way to make things more complicated, more expensive and longer to make! However, I have found one exception- pizzas! I make this recipe for pizza dough from (of course) epicurious, and although it does take longer, due to the rising time, there is something so cathartic about smashing your fists into warm, sticky dough. Then, you can throw it up, and sing the “That’s Amore” song. It’s a pretty winning combination! 🙂

The recipe makes three large pizzas, and it freezes very well. I’d recommend rolling the dough out as thin as possible, and using a pizza stone, such as this one below-( it makes the crust so crispy) before adding toppings on. A crisp Italian white wine or Negroni cocktails are our favorite drinks with.

I don’t make the crust ever- just make the sabayon, and go for it! I think it’s the best when chilled and served with berries.

Tarte au Citron

There are different ways to make a lemon tart. At Bouchon, the French Laundry, and Per Se, we use a sabayon method, in which the eggs are first cooked with the lemon juice and sugar over hot water, then the butter is gradually incorporated — an easy method that results in a consistently good lemon custard or curd.

Bring about 1 1/2 inches of water to a boil in a pot that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl you will be using for the sabayon. Meanwhile, in a large metal bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is smooth.

Set the bowl over the pot and, using a large whisk, whip the mixture while you turn the bowl (for even heating). After about 2 minutes, when the eggs are foamy and have thickened, add one-third of the lemon juice. Continue to whisk vigorously and, when the mixture thickens again, add another one-third of the lemon juice. Whisk until the mixture thickens again, then add the remaining lemon juice. Continue whisking vigorously, still turning the bowl, until the mixture is thickened and light in color and the whisk leaves a trail in the bottom of the bowl. The total cooking time should be 8 to 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat and leave the bowl over the water. Whisk in the butter a piece at a time. The sabayon may loosen slightly, but it will thicken and set as it cools. Pour the warm sabayon into glasses.

We served these at a BBQ. I was wondering if people would like them since most people are not fond of dates. However, the Madjool dates are really good. The combination of sweetness, salt, savory cheese and pancetta is divine. I used Parmiagiano-Reggiano cheese and bacon because I couldn’t find any pancetta in town that day (apparently not a hot seller in the Comox Valley). In any case, six people ate about 20 of them and that was in addition to the best hot wings your dad has ever made.